Minute of Independence
by madcap writer
Summary: Lily is married to James and can do nothing to change that. But just because they wedded by law, it does not require them to live like it. LExJP
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

* * *

Lily and James slipped into the luxury car that the bride's family had hired. Lily was in a beautiful white gown with an elegant strapless bodice and a large princess skirt. James was in a slick tuxedo tailored to perfection. They sat, hand in hand, as the car drove away from the church, waving goodbye to the small crowd.

As soon as everyone was out of sight, Lily immediately hiked up her gown. James stared at her wide-eyed, not knowing what she expected.

"Whoa! Whoa… What in the world are you doing?" He asked her bewildered.

"Leaving." She said simply. As she completely lifted the skirt of the dress, she revealed a pair of black converse on her feet and blue jeans rolled up to her knees. These had been easily concealed by the bulk of her skirt. She then reached for something tucked into the jeans. After twisting around for a few moments, she managed to extract a black t-shirt. Lily quickly destroyed the sophisticated up-do in her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. Then she pulled the t-shirt over her head and around the top of the dress. It looked like she was wearing a black shirt with and over-the-top skirt. Twisting around again, she unzipped the dress from under the shirt and quickly took off the expensive and elaborate dress. In a few minutes she had transformed from blushing bride to casual weekender. At last, she turned to James again, who was still staring at her in awe.

"You and I both know that neither of us wants to be in this marriage," She said while pulling her hair into a pony-tail, "But there's not much we can do about it now. So I'm going to just leave. We'll live our separate lives as if this never happened. The marriage spells will keep us from… er… having other _relationships_, but other than that, our lives shouldn't be affected." Lily sighed, "_I'm _not ready for a married life."

James looked relieved. Their impending relationship had given him many troubled thoughts. "All right then," was all he said.

Lily sighed again, but this was a sigh of preparation, the kind given right before a big test or difficult chore. "Excuse me!" She called towards the driver's seat, "Could you stop here? Thanks."

Just before leaving the car, Lily pulled out a pair of worn, black knit, fingerless gloves and slipped them on. Her new wedding ring was now safely hidden. The two young people looked at each other, "Look," she sounded, for the first time uncertain, "Maybe in a few years we'll find each other and be eager for the family life, but just, just _not now_."

"Lily," said James, "I completely understand. This was a brilliant idea."

She smiled before opening the car door and slipping out.

"Lily," James called, she looked back, worried, "Thanks." He said. She smiled. Lily turned away from the car and walked down the street, not knowing where she was going or where she wanted to go. She had nothing with her but a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, shoes, and a wand.


	2. Chapter 2

A young woman with dark red hair and bright green eyes was seen entering the Heavy Mug late in the afternoon. It was a neighborhood bar with dim lighting and a small crowd. She wore a black shirt, blue jeans, fingerless gloves, and a miserable expression. The woman looked around her as if she was unsure of what to do. She obviously didn't frequent joints like the one she was in. After looking about her for a few minutes she shuffled over to the bar.

She ordered some firewhiskey from the bartender and sat in one of the stools.

"Here ya go." He told her placing the drink in front of the woman.

She thanked him and put her hands around the glass but didn't move it any further. She just sat there, with her eyes unfocused, staring at the liquid. Occasionally her hands would reach around the cup to each other and her right fingers with touch the left ring finger's fabric.

A man with dark brown hair sat next to her and cheerfully greeted the bartender. They shook hands like good friends as the man sat down. The brown haired man noticed the woman he was sitting next to. She was very pretty. After watching her for a while and seeing that she never took a drink, his looked curiously. Catching the bartender's attention, he nodded to the girl. The bartender shrugged his shoulders.

After looking at the woman for several more moments he spoke to her, "You know, I've found it more useful when you actually _drink _it."

This seemed to pull her from her daze, "What?" She looked around to him, "Oh… right." The woman returned to her staring contest with the firewhiskey.

The man was encouraged by her reaction, "If you don't like that one, I could buy you another," he said suavely.

For the first time all evening, she was perfectly aware of where she sat. The woman looked the brown haired man full in the face and smirked, "No thanks." She saw the cruel irony of someone starting to flirt with her now.

"Oh, come on. You could use a pick-me-up." He said, scooting a little closer to her.

"Yeah? What would you know about it?" She said, scathingly.

"I know when a pretty girl needs a drink." He smiled.

"Look, I appreciate whatever compliment that might be, but really," she pressed, "don't talk to me."

"But that's just what you need, someone to talk to and get your mind off things. Let me help," the man winked.

"Honestly, you'll get nowhere tonight. Leave me, ple-"

"Just one drink." He interrupted

The woman shook her head and stood up to leave. She needed someplace to think. She moved around the chair and had taken one step when the man reached for her arm. "Stay," he said, "You won't regret it."

The woman turned back, grabbed the glass from the counter and downed the shot in one gulp. The man looked pleased.

"That's right, jus-" WHAM!

As the man resumed his flirting, the woman had put down her glass, cocked back her arm, and punched him in the face. He fell backwards off his chair, cursing the whole time. His head hit the stone floor of the pub with a resounding THUD. He didn't move. The woman's eyes went wide with shock and guilt. "Oh!" was all she managed to get out. The bartender leaned over and looked at the man. He laughed and ducked under the counter to reach him.

"I'm so sorry," said the woman.

"'Sokay," replied the bartender, "Just help me get him to the back."

After looking at him warily for a moment, she bent down to grab the unconscious man's legs as the bartender lifted him from under the arms. They brought him to a sort of storeroom in the back of the building. "Just so you know," said the woman as they set him down, "I'm not much in the habit of punching bloke's lights out."

"Yeah, well, he's in the habit of getting his lights punched out." Said the bartender. He began opening cabinets and pulled a vial of potion out of one. "Can you sit him upright for me?"

The woman pulled the unconscious man so that he leaned against what looked to be an old case of butterbeer. The bartender tipped the contents of the vial into his friends mouth. "Now," he said, standing back a bit, "We wait."

"So, I'm guessing this has happened before," said the woman, observing how mechanically the bartender did everything.

"Oh yeah." He laughed, "He's been punched out by guys before, and slapped by chicks, but never punched out by a chick, I daresay I think he'll be impressed." He looked at her for a moment, "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah, I just came from London. I'm Lily Ev-" she stopped talking suddenly, as if not able to say the last word, she huffed and started over, "Just Lily."

"Alright then, Lily, I'm Sean Williams." He stuck out his hand, Lily shook it as she looked at him fully for the first time. He was a tall black man, probably in his mid twenties and fairly attractive. The brown haired man on the floor started to cough and move a bit. "And my sputtering friend here is Trevor Scotts."

The brown haired man, now known as Trevor, looked around him and shook his head and growled, "How many times do I have to tell you, it's just Scotts," then, seeing Lily, "You've got a bloody nice right hook," he told her grudgingly.

Lily laughed and gave her hand to help him up, "I suppose I should buy you a consolatory drink?"

Trevor smiled, "That sounds about right."

* * *

After that night Lily formed a tentative friendship with the two men. Some days, after ending her shift at the little bistro she had gotten a job at, she might drop in the bar and say hello to Sean, and Scotts if he happened to be there.

Sean was a clever person with easy manners. Lily guessed this was why the Heavy Mug had hired him as a bartender. You might end up buying a drink just to talk to him.

Scotts, on the other hand, was loud and aggressive. He was very muscular and a probably 5'8"; only a few inches taller than Lily. He didn't really hold a specific job, but picked up odd jobs here and there. When Lily met him, he was house-sitting for an elderly couple going to see their children for a month. Currently he was training someone's owl to sort letters for them. When Lily asked him how he learned to train owls he laughed at her and said, "I'm just makin' it up as I go. They won't know the difference so long as I get it done."

Comments like these still threw Lily. She wasn't yet entirely used to the lax standards her new friends lived by. She had grown up in a society where everything was top notch and official. Now, the slogan of her life seemed to be "As long as it gets done."

However, Lily _was_ acclimating to her new environment. She had always been a fast learner and had never needed that talent so much as now. The first week was the hardest. She could rent a room at the inn with the promise to pay it off later, but food required instant money. Looking back, she still can't believe she survived off of the crumbs she found.

Then she got a job at the local coffee shop and stated a slow income of cash. She was so excited when she got her first pay. Lily never thought she would be so proud to hold just one galleon of her own.

It was a busy day in the bistro when the owner of the shop walked out of his back office. This was quite the event because the owner, Mr. Woodford, was an elderly, honest, and sarcastic man who preferred to lock himself in his office and deal with the finances of his business and leave the social aspect to his staff.

"Lily," he called out.

"Yes, boss?" She asked while refilling a customer's coffee.

"Come see me," he demanded before turning into his office. Lily looked around bewildered. What could he have to say to her? She had only been working there a few weeks and hadn't made too many mistakes. Some of her coworkers sent her sympathetic looks.

Lily returned the coffee pot to the counter and slowly walked back to his office. Trying to think of arguments she could use to save her job, if he actually was firing her. When she walked into the room, he was already sitting at his desk. Lily took a seat in the small chair across from him, reading herself for anything he had to say.

What she did not expect him to say was, "You've got a piece of mail here," while holding up a parchment envelope.

Lily sat in a state of confusion and fear. One, why would any letters for her end up here, and not the room she was renting at the local inn? And, two, did it have her full name on the address? She immediately tugged at her fingerless gloves. Making sure they were still covering the ring. Her voice shook slightly when she replied, "Why would my mail end up here?"

"It appears it was _urgent_." He said slowly while passing her the letter.

Lily's heart sunk as she read the address. It said nothing but:

_To Mrs. Lily Potter_

_URGENT_

She lifted her eyes slowly to Woodford's face. It wasn't friendly. He stood and leaned forward over the desk, "I don't know what kind of stunt you're trying to pull by working a blue collar job, but you're not gonna do it here. I want you out!"

"But sir! I need this job!"

"Need this job!?" he repeated incredulously, "Listen missy," he pointed a finger in her face, "I may not be high up in society but I know the _Potter's_ have more money than I'll ever make. There are single mother's out there trying to feed families. There are kid's runaway from abusive parents. Some people are out there starving! They need the job! Not some millionaire's wife who wanted a little extra spending money!" he huffed, ignoring Lily's infuriated expression, "What are you trying to do anyways? Finance an affair?"

"Sir!" Lily found herself standing, "Thank you so very much for profiling me based off of a name on an envelope! I hope you think so much of everyone that you come across." She spat at him, "It may not have occurred to you that I have a good enough reason for doing this that I don't wish to tell every person I meet."

"Well you better be damn ready to explain it to me!" Woodford roared at her.

Silence fell on the room, thickening the air. He stared hard into her eyes and waited.

Lily stood in shock. She had expected him to roll his eyes and sputter about how doubtful it was and then fire her on the spot. Lily did not think him prepared to listen.

"Er," She stuttered, "You see…"

"Well?" snapped Woodford, "Tell me your brilliant explanation. Your husband wouldn't pay for those pretty robes? Or the solid gold cauldron didn't have enough inlaid diamonds? Maybe you-"

"It was arranged." Lily interrupted, tired of his ranting.

"What?" He said, wrinkling his brow.

"My marriage. It was arranged. I was practically sold into it; me and James both," she sighed, looking at the desk rather than him, "But I didn't want that, that life. Never wanted it. I was always looking for an escape, some way to leave them, but I was always surrounded by people, my mother even hired people to watch me the months leading up to the wedding. Just to make sure I didn't run." Lily shook her head, "All of it ended the moment I married James. I was finally left alone. My _duty _was done. She didn't need to keep me anymore. So I ran. I started over here; with nothing but the clothes on my back. And I won't take a knut from those people, not if I can help it." She finished with vehemence.

Lily looked up at Mr. Woodford for the first time since starting her story. He face was frozen with a bewildered expression. He scratched his head, fiddled his fingers, and leaned his chin on his hand while his elbow rested on the desk. Woodford did all this without looking away from Lily. His invariable staring slightly unnerved her. He finally leaned back in his chair and relaxed his expression.

"Where are you staying?" He asked her quietly.

Lily thought she hadn't heard him right, "I… I beg your pardon?"

"Where are you living right now?" He repeated, impatiently.

"I… er, at the little inn, near the Heavy Mug…" She said slowly, trailing off as he stated to shake his head.

"No… They'll find out too easy there, what with mail coming in every day," He looked back at Lily with an evaluating expression, "I'll tell you something, kid, I'll make you a deal, I'll let you stay in the little attic apartment above the shop and instead of paying rent, I'll just cut your paycheck. What do you say?"

Lily's mind was reeling as she tried to wrap her mind around his abrupt subject change, still she managed to stutter out an acceptance.

"Of course," he said, "You must be ready to work at any time, even holidays."

"Of course," she replied.

"Good" he said, and stood from the desk. He was halfway to the door when Lily came to her senses.

"Wait! Mr. Woodford, what are you talking about?"

"I thought I made myself very clear, I am going to let you-"

"Yes, I know what that meant," she said quickly, "but why did you say it? One minute I'm telling you my life story and the next you're offering me a living space? That doesn't make sense."

"I have my reasons," he said simply, then turned to leave again.

"I gave you my explanation. You owe me your's." Lily said in a cold voice.

He sighed and turned to face her, "I sympathize with you kid. I've done more or less what you're doing. You might get the full story later on, but that's as much as I'm going to tell you so far." Lily was silent.

This time he was halfway through the door when Lily caught him, "Mr. Woodford! Promise you'll keep this a secret." It was a demand, not a question.

Without looking back he said, "I promise. And kid? I think that envelope says 'urgent'." And he left.

After he had been gone for several minutes, Lily finally turned her attention to the object that started all the drama. She recognized her mother's handwriting and became concerned. Upon opening it, it read:

_Dear Mrs. Potter, _

_It is incredibly irresponsible of you to wait so long to RSVP to my invitation. I have sent you several. I should be scand…_

Lily stopped reading and laughed humorlessly while crumpling the paper. It was just like her mother to assume Lily would still put up with her. But Lily had moved on from that. Her new life was getting better and better with every day, even if it did have numerous dramatic events.

After composing herself, she walked out of the office and back to work.

Lily left all thoughts of her mother and her past life in the rubbish bin with the crumpled piece of parchment.

* * *

**I'm really excited about writing this story and I hope you enjoy reading it. Much kudos to n3rdf1ght3r for helping me through this chapter.**

**As always, please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**One year later**

* * *

It was seven in the evening and Lily was wiping down the counters. It was just her and one other girl in the café that night so the atmosphere was quiet and slow. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw two figures pass by the window. Looking up, she smiled.

Scotts entered the door first, throwing it open and strutting inside. Sean came after him with long casual strides and shut the door quietly.

"Hello Lily dear!" called Scotts loudly.

"Hey Lily," said Sean while laughing at his friend.

"Boys," she greeted warmly, "What are you doing her? Had a craving for an early night muffin?" she teased.

"Oh, don't you know?" said Scotts as he and Sean shared sidelong glances, "We're taking you out. We told you this."

"Um. No, you didn't." Lily said, bewildered.

"I could have sworn we did," said Sean in mock confusion.

"As could I," agreed Scotts. They looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and turned back to Lily.

"Well, we're telling you now. So go change." Sean commanded.

"Have you forgotten the slight detail that I'm working? Boss will never let me off early." Said Lily.

"Oh, I can take care of that." Sean said confidently.

"No, you can't," Lily insisted, "I've got the night shift, _and_ I have to lock up tonight, I have to stay here."

"Oh, the old man can lock up easy enough," Scotts looked over to Lily's coworker, "And you can handle the _huge_ crowd by yourself, right?" He gestured towards the empty restaurant.

The girl was so shocked to be suddenly addressed that she merely let out a squeak.

"Right." Scotts said, "It'll all be taken care of. We haven't been out in the _longest_ time. Let's go!"

"I'll talk to Woodford, make him see that you need the night off," assured Sean.

"Won't be that hard, everyone knows he's a pushover," Scotts said, the whole room stared at him in disbelief, "Okay, well, maybe not a pushover but he's got a soft spot for you, Lils."

People told this to Lily all the time, but she didn't believe them. If anything, he had her working harder than any other of his employees. People just thought they were close because she joked around with him when no one else would dare, but Lily did that with everyone, so she didn't see what was so special. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head at Scotts.

"He does!" insisted Scotts.

"I don't believe you," she said in a sing-song voice.

"How could he not? He lets you live here, he calls you 'kid', he doesn't toss Sean and me out nearly as much as anyone else's pestering friends."

"That last one is actually true," commented Sean, "But while you two hash this out, I'm going to go get Lily off work."

Sean moved behind the counter and walked up to Woodford's office. Through the window separating the office from the back hallway the young adults could see him busy writing something.

"Sean! Don't! He won't like it at all!" said Lily, trying to get her friend to return before it was too late, but Sean had already knocked on the door and Woodford looked up from his papers, annoyed. All Lily could hear was Sean's cheerful greeting to her boss before the door shut.

Through the window, Scotts and Lily could only see Sean's back, for he was facing away from the glass and toward the grumpy employer.

"He's so going to get yelled at." Murmured Lily.

"Oh, Lily, have some faith." Said Scotts, leaning over the counter so he could see.

Sean was apparently talking to Woodford, his head nodding and hands gesturing occasionally. The older man would start talking but then Sean's nods and gestures would get more excited and Woodford would stop.

"Looks like he's agreeing to something," Scotts said when they saw Woodford bob his head up a bit.

"I don't believe it." Lily said, smiling.

Sean had taken Woodford's hand and shaken it before turning and leaving the office. He didn't say a word until he was back on the other side of the counter and facing Lily again, "Go get dressed."

Lily laughed and whipped around sending a questioning glance at Woodford. Her boss stuck his head out the door and grumbled, "Go kid! Before I change my mind." He slammed the door

Lily turned to Sean and jumped at him throwing her arms around his neck in an excited hug, but she quickly pulling away, "Thanks!" she said before dashing up the staircase next to the office and into her apartment.

As soon as the door was shut, Lily let out a muttered curse and cradled her left hand with her right.

She was leaning against the closed door that led into her one-room apartment. Two rooms if you counted the cramped loo. There was hardly any furniture. A chair. A dresser. A mattress on the floor. It was sparse, but Lily loved it. She loved it because she had bought it with her own money, she loved it because it was the first place she wanted to call home, and she loved it because it was just the way she wanted it to be. No maid, or house elf had come and tidied up behind her. No professional decorator had attacked the walls with color swatches. No mother had inspected it for its cleanliness. Anything that was done to it was done by Lily. Sean and Scotts weren't even allowed to mess with it on the few occasions she could tolerate them to come up.

Sean and Scotts. _Sean_: The reason why she was currently trying to sooth the pain in her hand.

Soon after Lily had run away, she discovered the affects of a magical marriage. The wedding band, she found, had rules. All of them seemed to try to prevent an affair from happening. Lily couldn't be alone with a man or get physically close to him.

The first time Lily encountered these limitations was about a week after her wedding. Scotts had given her a tip that Woodfordwas hiring. She was so thankful that she gave him a hug. After about half a second, Lily felt a strong ache in her left hand.

She jumped away from him suddenly and he became concerned. Rubbing her hand, she had told him that it was just a cramp, that her hands did it often, and that he shouldn't worry. Lily knew this was a lie.

Now she was feeling the end of this latest reprimand. Apparently the hug she gave to Sean was too warm and friendly. Marriage didn't like that. Usually she can ignore it until it gets stronger, but the hug was spontaneous and she wasn't thinking about it. The pain caught her off guard.

The ache was finally disappearing as she walked to her dresser. Lily didn't have many clothes, but she had learned early on that with a few color and length changing charms, whole new outfits could be invented. It was a big money saver for her.

She slipped on some casual party clothes, knowing that Scotts' idea of "going out for the night" meant clubbing or bar hopping.

Lily ran down the stairs and out the shop door, meeting her boys on the road in front.

* * *

"So," Lily said cheerfully after they had walked down the lane a little while, "Where are we going tonight?"

"I'd though we'd want to go to the Warlock's Lounge. I heard a rumor that the Broomtwigs were playing a gig there." Scotts said, talking about the newest wizarding rock band. Lily looked at him sharply. Scotts _never_ had a plan for the night or found out what was going on ahead of time. They always just stumbled into the closest pub and went on from there.

"Sounds cool," commented Sean. Lily shot him a look too. He never agreed with the first idea. Sean always threw around three more options before they ever made a decision. Something was up.

"Guys," she said warily, "What's going on?"

"Nothing Lils," said Scotts quickly.

"Nothing at all," agreed Sean. Both of these statements told Lily blatantly that _something was going on._

"Come on! Why aren't you telling me?" she begged.

"Because you won't go if we do," said Sean.

"Oh." She said, stopping dead in the street. They were a few steps ahead of her before they stopped and looked back, "What makes you think I'll go now?" Lily said slyly, crossing her arms.

The two men looked at each other and then back at her, "Curiosity," they said at the same time. Sean and Scotts continued to walk.

Lily debated it in her head. She _knew_ that they _knew_ she wouldn't like it. She _knew _that she would ultimately regret going along. She _knew _that going home right then would cause no damage to her whatsoever. Lily also _knew_ that _not_ knowing exactly what it was would drive her mad.

She ran to catch up with them.

They walked into the Warlock's Lounge a few minutes later arm in arm (Lily managing to pass off her grimace of pain as a suspicious smile). As soon as the three stepped over the threshold Scotts pealed off. Lily tried to find where he went, but the lighting was dark and she lost him in the crowd.

She turned to Sean and started to ask, "Where did he – "

"Let's find someplace to sit, shall we?" interrupted Sean.

"You tossers are so dead if tonight turns out disastrous, whatever it is we're doing." Warned Lily jokingly.

"Oh," smirked Sean, "_We're_ not doing anything. This is all you Lily."

She became worried. Lily knew that Scotts and Sean wouldn't put her in any real danger, or any situation where she could get hurt, they were her best friends, closer than that even. However, they were known to try to embarrass each other every once in a while. All in the name of good fun of course, but usually all three were in on it and large amounts of alcohol were consumed before anything happened. This was very strange behavior for the two.

Lily and Sean found a high top table to stand at. Sean soon left to get drinks and left Lily by herself. Not thirty seconds after Sean left, Scotts found her. He was with a friend.

Scotts introduced him as Bradley Price. He was a fact checker for the _Daily Prophet_. Lily shot her boys suspicious glances as she shook Bradley's hand. They _conveniently_ were not looking at her.

"It's nice to meet you Lily." Said Bradley.

"Likewise," Said Lily, smiling, but still sending glances towards Scotts and Sean every few seconds.

Scottswas looking all around him. After a few moments, he nudged Sean and nodded to a couple of attractive girls. "Excuse us, there seem to be some lonely girls over there who need some company," he said before strutting off, taking Sean with him.

_This is a blind date! _thought Lily, _I can't believe they're doing this! Don't they know I don't want a man, _she thought angrily, a little voice in the back of her head corrected her, _can't have._

"Wow." Chuckled Bradley, "I've never been so obviously set up before."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, well, it's their first time doing it. I'm sure if you seem desperate enough they'll get better at it,"

Bradley rolled his eyes and smiled, "One can only hope."

He was funny. What a shame.

"So you're a fact checker?" Said Lily, trying to start conversation. She would humor her boys and be polite to this guy, ultimately telling him it 'just wouldn't work'.

"Yeah. I make sure names and spells are all correct. It's not too grand. Just a lot of background reading, but I really don't mind much. I uh… kind of love to read." He finished sheepishly.

He loved to read. Damn.

"Really? I'm the same way. Of course, Scotts always takes the mickey out of me when he sees me pull a book out of my bag, so I have to be careful around the boys." She explained with a wink.

"He used to do that all the time whenever he caught me reading at the office," commented Bradley, laughing and nodding his head.

"Is that where you met? At the _Prophet_?" Lily asked. She never knew Scotts had worked at the _Prophet._

"Yeah. He was delivering food that month. How did you two meet?" he asked.

Lily laughed, thinking fondly of the incident, "Um," she started, "I knocked him unconscious at a bar."

Bradley let out a large "Ha!" then asked her why.

"Well, I was having a _really_ bad day," she frowned thinking of _that_ memory, "And he kept on hitting on me, he just wouldn't leave me alone, so eventually I got so frustrated that I punched him."

Still laughing he said, "Well, if I know Scotts, I'm sure he deserved it," he smiled at her, "Though this explains why you two are good friends. You are probably the only girl he's ever met that he hasn't emotionally offended."

"I'm honored to have that title," announced Lily with a fake air of bravado. They laughed.

As she reached for her drink, Bradley asked, "What's with the gloves?"

"Oh," she said, fingers immediately jumping to the ring hidden beneath, "Poor circulation, you know, my hands just get cold easily." It was a feeble lie, but the man had enough sense not to push it. Lily appreciated that.

She felt a little frustration at that moment. This guy was really decent. A lot like herself actually; Lily could see why Scotts had thought to get them together. But no matter how great and charming this bloke was, she couldn't even entertain the idea of being with him.

And that fact confused her feelings towards him. _If_ she was attracted to him, was it because she truly liked him or was it just a desire for something because she couldn't have it. Was it her rebellious instinct kicking in?

However, _if _she didn't feel anything towards him, was it because there really wasn't any chemistry between them, or was it because her mind knew that it was pointless to consider.

As their conversation continued on her frustration built. Fate seemed to show its hate for her by constantly throwing Price's good qualities in her face, over and over again. He was witty, he liked the same music, he was a kind person. And she couldn't have him! The real kicker for her was whenever she would smile at him or lean closer, a small pain would pulse through her hand.

Bradley must have been able to tell something was bothering Lily; she answered so quickly to everything and seemed to get irritated everyonce in a while, so he stopped conversation and asked her to dance. Against her better judgment, Lily agreed. Even as he led her to the dance floor the pain increased, spreading from her fingers to her wrist.

The final straw was when Bradley pulled her close for a slow dance. At that point shocks of pain went up and down her left arm. Unable to stand it any longer, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I really am," she said looking up to him, her eyes watering in pain, "I have to go." She quickly turned and weaved through the crowd of dancers leaving a confused Bradley behind.

Finally finding the door she burst outside breathing deeply. It was autumn then and the crisp cool air felt good in her lungs. Still trying to shake the pain away, she moved away from the doorway and to the little alley way between the club and the next building. Slumping against the brick wall, she let her head fall into her hands. Several minutes passed and the pain still had not disappeared.

"Why does it hurt!?" she cried out in frustration.

"What hurts?"

Lily jumped. Looking up she saw a figure standing in the entrance of the alley. It moved closer to her and she saw that it was Sean.

"Did he hurt you Lily?" asked Sean with angry concern.

"Who?" said Lily, forgetting for a moment the circumstances that put her here, "Oh! Bradley? God, no! No, it's nothing like that."

"Then what hurts?" he repeated.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, then seeing his doubtful look she mumbled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright then, why did you walk out on Price?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"He comes up to us saying you ran away from him, crying for no reason, and we're just supposed to let that go? Lily you've got to tell me something."

She remained silent.

"Come on Lily, was he an idiot? Womanizer? Criminal?"

Lily shook her head, "No, it wasn't anything like that."

"Why'd you turn him away then?"

"Why'd you set me up with him?" she challenged, trying to change the subject.

Sean sighed and moved to stand next to her, leaning against the wall, "I'll be honest with you, I wasn't crazy about the idea at first. But Scotts said that he had this friend that he thought you'd like," he looked at her full in the face, concern laced in his voice, "I haven't seen you with anyone since I've met you Lily, and I know you've turned down all the guys at the bars but Bradley wasn't just some random bloke. He seemed alright to me, so I agreed."

"He was alright," Lily said, half thinking aloud, "he was great actually. I probably would have dated him if it wasn't for J…" she caught herself.

"If it wasn't for who?" asked Sean.

Lily looked up at him and bit her lip. A thousand times since she met the boys she debated telling them the truth, but she had never come this close.

"Is there another man?" questioned Sean.

She let out a hollow chuckle, "You could say that."

"Why didn't you tell us, Lily? We would have helped you or something," he paused, "Is it your heart that hurts Lily? Did that guy break your heart?"

"It's just a part of my past," she explained vaguely, "I just can't have a relationship after that."

"Well," he countered, "You've got to move on eventually."

"No. I can't" she said sharply.

"Lily," he said, "It's not healthy to hang on to this... er... whatever it is."

"I just can't!" she said, voice raising slightly, "Not from something like that."

They stood in silence for a while, neither willing to back down, the cool breeze blowing around them.

"Let's just get out of here," said Sean, finally breaking the silence.

Lily looked up at him, taking a deep calming breath she said, "Okay." Not caring that she hadn't explained herself or that the subject had not been closed. She just didn't want to think about it anymore that night.

She pushed herself off the wall and he led them down the street. Lily's hand still hurt, but it wasn't anything she couldn't ignore.

_I'll tell him sometime, _she thought to herself.

* * *

**Ta da! Chapter three. I'm horrible with updates and will continue to be, so I apologize for that but make no true effort to change.**

**I hope you enjoyed and that you'll keep reading the story even if it takes me so long that you have to go back and re-read every chapter so you remember what's going on. But I hope it doesn't come to that.**

**Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

Sean stood in front of his small wardrobe looking at his clothes with a calculating expression. He would sift through the items, sliding the hangers across the rack with an increasingly annoyed attitude. Occasionally he would select a jumper and pull it over his head before looking at himself in the small mirror on the wall. Sean would be satisfied for a few moments before making a face and pulling the sweater off and discarding it in a growing pile on the floor.

Scotts was watching this bemusedly from his current residence which, due to his lack of steady employment, was Sean's small sofa.

"Do you have a date tonight that I don't know about?" Scotts finally called.

Sean looked at him with confusion, "No, I thought we were all going to the game."

"I know Lily and I are gonna watch some quidditch, but the number of times you changed your clothes makes me think you're gonna see someone you want to impress. Seems like you're getting ready for a date."

"Unless you plan on buying me dinner and telling me how pretty I look, no, there is not date planned." Sean said sarcastically, but there was a hint of insecurity in his voice.

"So what's with t he sudden obsession over your wardrobe?" Scotts asked condescendingly.

Sean muttered something that sounded like, "wanted to look nice for someone."

Scotts rolled his eyes, "Right. So you're not going on a date, and you're not going to meet up with anyone, you're just taking special care for me an- oh," Scotts froze in thought and then heaved a great sigh.

"What?" said Sean.

"Really?" said Scotts with a searching look.

"What!?" repeated Sean impatiently.

"Really, Sean? Lily?"

"What about her?" demanded Sean but with a high nervous tone hidden in his voice.

"You fancy her don't you?" said Scotts, heaving another sigh.

"What? That's ab- Well, I wouldn't say- You see, the thing is- So what if I do?" sputtered Sean while Scotts simply stared at him with an eyebrow raised, "Are you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to?"

Scotts shook his head, "I just wouldn't go there if I were you."

"Says the man that hit on her the first time he saw her." Sean said flatly.

"Yeah, but that was before I knew she could throw a right hook," grumbled Scotts.

"Is that why you don't like her?" Laughed Sean.

"Who said I didn't like her? I just said I wouldn't date her. She's one of my best friends but- I don't know –there's just so much we don't know about her."

"Oh, come on. We probably know her better than anyone. I can practically predict the words coming out of her mouth."

"Yeah?" challenged Scotts.

"Yeah."

"So what's her hometown?" asked Scotts.

Sean was silent.

"What's her family like? Any brothers or sisters?" questioned Scotts. Met with silence he continued, "Why doesn't she date anyone? Why did she come here? We know she went to Hogwarts and was two years under us, but I can't for the life of me remember her or what house she was in. Who was she talking to you about when she said there was another man?" he sighed again, "We don't even know her last name."

"I know!" Sean shouted, cutting him off, "And I tell myself those things all the time, but I just can't help myself. I just want to be with her."

"I think you should find out some things before you get involved with her. And, knowing Lily, she won't let anything out in casual conversation."

"I know, I know. I've thought about confronting her. But how do you bring that up? 'Thanks for the coffee Lils, by the way, tell me everything about your past.' There's no right way to do it." He sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands in frustration.

The two friends sat by each other for several long moments before Scotts sat up suddenly, "There never is going to be a right time to do it."

Sean rolled his head to the side and looked at him, "Yeah, that's what I just said."

"I know, but that means that if we wait around for the right time to ask her everything, we'll never get anywhere." Said Scotts as if experiencing an epiphany.

Sean rolled his eyes, "Thanks for putting me in a good mood, mate."

"No, What I'm saying is that we've got to just suck it up and confront her, no matter how uncomfortable it is. She'll never do it on her own, and we'll never be able to work it in casually, so we might as well get it over with."

Sean looked at his friend through narrowed eyes, "So, what are you suggesting?"

Scotts spoke slowly, still reveling in the brilliance of his own idea, "I think we should blow off this game and sit down and talk with her about it. Finally get all the answers."

Sean stared at him for a long moment before saying, "I think you've got something there. For, once, I completely agree with your plan."

* * *

The next few minutes found the two men hurriedly putting on their coats and preparing to walk to the little coffee shop. They rushed outside and walked swiftly down the street, talking strategy on the way. They wanted to be kind, but firm. They didn't want to seem like they were accusing her of anything but still wanted to know why she had kept everything from her. And, of course, they must be prepared to not let her talk herself out of it. They would not leave the shop until everything was answered.

They even had Sean's first questions planned out, for naturally he would go first. Sean and Scotts were actually quiet excited for it until they opened the shop door. A sight met their eyes that they had never seen before and that broke their hearts.

Lily was slumped on a bar stool in front of a man dressed as a ministry official. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was red. Tear streaks covered her face.

All plans that had been circulating through the guys head disappeared without a thought. They had never seen they're friend like this. She had been moody before, quiet even, but it was always with a certain kind of optimistic energy. They way she was now was as if she had been completely destroyed from the inside.

Scotts warily pushed open the door and walked in. The cheerful bell that rang as the door swung open seems out of place in the grave scene before them.

The ministry official had just finished talking to her and handed her an envelope before turning to leave. Sean went to Lily while Scotts grabbed the man's arm before he left.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" he asked.

"The owner of this establishment, Mr. Woodford, has died tragically. I'm sorry I cannot explain more, I must be going." The man easily broke from Scotts' slackened grip. He now understood Lily's emotions perfectly. Woodford had been like family to Lily. Maybe not a father figure, but a lovable uncle.

Scotts walked to the other two slowly. Lily was sobbing hysterically while Sean read some pieces of parchment. One was very white and crisp. It looked like it had the ministry seal on it. The other was slightly yellow and a little crumpled. Sean finished the ministry one first and handed it to Scotts with a sad look

It read:

_Dear Recipient;_

_We are sorry to inform you that Mr. Richard Woodford passed away at 4:32 pm yesterday evening at St. Mungo's. He appeared to have suffered severe trauma from what looked to be dueling injuries. Before his death Woodford reported being attacked by a group now known as Death Eaters. Further investigation will take place. _

_After contacting legal representatives at the Ministry of Magic, it was determined that an address had been left for the person that the Will should be read to. _

_A Ministry Official shall be contacting you shortly._

Scotts looked from the short note to Lily, who wasn't looking at anyone, to Sean, who was reaching the end of the second set of papers. Scotts could only assume that it was Woodford's Will. Skipping past the formal order to send the will to the address (Scotts did take time to notice that even Woodford had left out Lily's name) he went straight to Woodford's handwritten sentiments.

_Everything I own goes to Kid. This currently includes a small bit of money and some coffee pots. I'm sorry I can't leave her the business to run for I have only rented the building. She would have done a hell of a job running it but I'm a poor man with little income and can't afford to give it to her. Anything else goes to her._

Scotts was shocked by the briefness of everything. It was so short and unemotional. He was snapped back into reality when he heard Lily speak through her choking sobs.

"Where will I go?" she cried, "They said I could have forty-eight hours to pack up before they put the building up on the market. Where can I go?" Her grief over her friend's death and her panic over her living situation combined to make her beyond reason. "Where will I go? What will I do?" she kept repeating.

"You'll stay with us of course," Said Sean.

Lily paused for half a second before shaking her head slowly, but she protested no more. She allowed herself, with the support of her two friends to be led back to Sean's flat where she curled up on the sofa and cried while Scotts made tea. They both tried to comfort her but knew that it was best if she just expressed her grief. Finally, after several hours, the trio found themselves asleep in the small sitting room.

Lily was still curled up on the couch while Scotts claimed the overstuffed armchair. Sean leaned against the couch from his sitting position on the floor. What the boys hadn't noticed before were the few crumpled sheets of paper that Lily had held tight in her hands all night.

* * *

She awoke very late at night, or early in the morning, to the sounds of snores. Quietly she slipped off the couch and went to the small kitchenette to re-read the papers by candlelight.

She put a pot of water on the stove to start making tea. After fiddling with the flame and the pot for as long as she could, she turned her attention back to the papers.

She smoothed it out slowly and took a deep breath before looking at the words.

_Dear Kid,_

_If you're reading this I'm in not to fair a shape. I only hope that you find out and don't see it happen first hand. _

_First I want to apologize for not being able to leave you more than I have. But that will come later in the story. _

_One of the first real conversations we had was you telling me your dramatic life story, well, now you get mine. _

_If you can believe it, I was a teenager once. I was also a teenager from a very proud, pureblood family. I suppose you've never heard of the Woodford's, but that's because it was not my father's side that was proud. It was mother's. She was the eldest daughter of her generation of Selweyns and I was her eldest son. It was a shock to the relatives when I was sorted into Ravenclaw but they were able to get past that. I was treated as a willful individual and was used to getting my way, so the fact that the family accepted me even though I was different did not surprise me at all. Why shouldn't they? I got used to this idea of family loyalty and did not think of my actions. Therefore when I fell in love with Isabelle Johnson, a muggle born but charming witch, I did not think it absurd that I immediately proclaim my plans to marry her. My mother was shocked and my grandparents outraged. They threatened to disown me and I thought it only a bluff. Before I knew it I was out on the streets with nothing but a heart that belonged to a beautiful girl and a willful head. _

_I soon lost the beautiful girl for when she saw how penniless I was going to be, she quickly transferred her affections to one of her other many suitors. Once my family knew that I was no longer with her they were ready to welcome me back with open arms and only a scolding for my rash behavior. But I couldn't return. They had wounded my pride and I could not face them again. I ended up a poor waiter at a simple restaurant. Slowly I worked my way up the food chain and was able to set up shop myself. _

_Countless times my mother has tried to contact me but I could never let those ties be repaired. Can you see now how I could understand your situation so well? I remember you telling me your story and seeing myself in your eyes. I know what it is to separate from a powerful family and know how difficult it is. _

_I relived all of this as you told me of the life you ran away from. I saw it all flashing before my eyes and instantly sympathized with you. I saw a little bit of myself in your eyes and was proud. You have been more like family to me than anyone else and I loved you as such. _

_You are doing a fantastic job. You're much better off than I ever was, though maybe it is because you have a positive personality. I will tell you that it's hard to do this alone. Even harder for you because you are hiding so much. I advise you to tell Williams and Scotts as soon as you can. They seem like good blokes, they'll understand. Even if they don't, you'll have to tell them sometime, for our situations differ greatly. I was done with my family when I left, you are not. I know you don't think you have any ties to them any more, but you do. You are simply taking a break from that society for you __**are**__ married, and will have to return sometime. I know it's not what you want to her, but Kid, it's the truth. _

_I only hope that you are ready for everything that comes to you. _

_Good Luck,_

_Boss_

Lily read the letter with tearful eyes and trembling hands. The words in front of her were bewildering. Woodford had come from a rich home just as she had. They were both runaways, both black sheep, no wonder she connected with him so well. But what was he telling her at the end? That she would fail? That she couldn't do it? Lily didn't understand. Lily then thought about telling Sean and Scotts and flinched. How could she tell them? When could she tell them? Not now at least. She didn't want to think about it now. She only wanted to focus on the kind, supportive words he had writer her.

As Lily sat thinking of all that had happened to her she remembered that in two days she would no longer have a place to stay or a job. This depressed her but did not make her hysterical, she was done with sobs. Lily knew that there were cheap apartments for rent in the area but she had no job to pay for it. When she first left her old life she was desperate enough to be able to walk into the coffee shop and demand a job, but she knew that she didn't have the kind of will power to do that again.

She reckoned she could live on the money he had left her for a month, maybe two if she didn't eat much, but she would have to find some income soon. There were no openings anywhere near her. Everyone around needed a job.

A resolution formed in Lily's mind as she stood in the small kitchen. She would have to leave. There was nothing for her to do here, no more golden opportunities. She could start over in a new place; she had done it before and started off just fine. Now she even had a bit of starter money. She would miss Scotts and Sean, but they had their lives here. She would have to leave them, but she would keep in touch. This was something she was just going to have to do.

"Lily!"

She broke out of her musings to Sean's alarmed voice and the whistling of the tea kettle. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the screaming water right next to her. It had apparently woken Sean up as he was turning the flame off when she looked at him.

"You alright?" He said, looking her straight in the eye.

"Yeah, just thinking about things." She said before subtly slipping the letter into her pocket.

Scotts groaned as he stumbled into the kitchen. The water had woken him up too.

"Sorry about this guys, I just got a little lost in thought…" She muttered.

"No problem. What were you thinking about?" soothed Sean.

Lily was silent for a long time before saying, "I was thinking- I was thinking about leaving. I've got to find a job sometime. A new town will be a good place to look."

More silence.

"I will miss you guys. You've been the greatest mates a girl could have." She smiled slightly.

Sean looked at her, open mouthed before Scotts said, "Lily, you can't honestly think you'd get away from us that easily."

She wrinkled her brow, "Don't you understand? I can't stay here. I have to leave."

"We know," Sean said, "We're coming with you."

"But why?" she asked angrily. She could stand on her own. She didn't need them constantly taking care of her.

"What else have we got to do?" asked Scotts casually.

"Um, I don't know. Stay here, keep your jobs, live your lives." She was definitely angry now. They see her cry and now have to watch her like a child? It was ridiculous.

"Scotts doesn't have a job, I'm set because there is never not a need for someone with alcohol and we'd rather stick with you."

"I don't need you to come with me. Don't think you have to drop everything and leave." Said Lily defensively.

Scotts looked at Sean and rolled his eyes, "Lils, don't you dare think for a second that we are doing this for _your_ benefit."

"Oh no," sighed Sean dramatically, "This is all for us. What would _we_ do without _you?_"

"You're the one that helps us with girls,"

"And taught us how to do laundry,"

"And fixes us food,"

"Tries to stop us from drinking to much,"

"Buys us drinks when we haven't had enough yet,"

"Reminds us to write mother,"

"Signs our name on gifts,"

"Makes the best coffee,"

"Picks out our outfits in the morning,"

"Alright!" Lily was slightly smiling now, "I get it. I see I can't possibly leave you."

"I knew she'd see reason," chuckled Scotts. The room shared a happy moment before falling back into a sad silence again. They had lost a great friend, but they still had each other.

She sighed before pulling them into a group hug, "Thanks guys," She said into their shoulders. Lily didn't notice that Sean held on a little tighter and longer than Scotts did. She didn't notice the look that Scotts sent to his friend. She didn't know what any of these things meant. All she knew was that she had her two best friends with her and she felt better because of it.

* * *

**I bet you had forgotten about this hadn't you? Well, I apologize for my lateness. I could throw out a dozen convincing excuses but none are really the actual reason why I'm such a horrible updater. The real reason is that I'm lazy. The first person to find a cure for it will be my best friend. I am promising a soon update on the next chapter because I've already got it half written. We see James next chapter... yay....**


	5. Chapter 5

Luck seemed to be by Lily's side. Honestly, it was in love with her.

Not only was she able to move without a hitch, but Scotts used one of his many connections to find a person that was opening up a new bar and wanted some young people to work it. He hired Sean as a bartender, Lily as a waitress, and Scotts as a doorman. They couldn't believe their luck.

Lily could even afford her own apartment. After days of protesting, she managed to convince the boys that it was not best to all live together and split the rent. She wanted a place to herself. They thought it was because she wanted to retain her independence, but Lily really just wanted to avoid the pain that she knew marriage would cause her if she lived with them.

Even with the death of the beloved old man, she was quite content with life. She had crappy working hours and little spending money after her room was paid for, but she loved it. She enjoyed spending so much time with Sean and Scotts. They were like brothers to her. Almost. Sean was something else. He was… well, she didn't know how she felt about him, but it wouldn't matter anyways.

Lily's life had become somewhat of an amusing routine. Wake up around two thirty in the afternoon. Take care of whatever she needed to. Go to work around five to help set the place up. Start work at six thirty. Serve for the next several hours. Throw the underage girls that had flirted their way past Scotts out. Make sure Sean didn't give Scotts too many 'free samples'. Eat "lunch" around midnight. Lock up around three in the morning. Hang out with the boys. Fall asleep around six.

Lily grew more in the two months that she had been working at that joint. She felt the lightest and happiest than she ever had in her life. Lily was learning so much from her environment; Sean was even teaching her some bartending skills. If she could work as a barmaid she could make a fortune in tips. She could almost entirely forget that she was married and had a wealthy husband out there somewhere. Almost.

There were always incidents that would remind her. Like when Sean had to crash at her place for one night when Scotts brought home a date. Sleeping in the same vicinity of another man while your husband was not there was apparently frowned upon. Lily could hardly sleep that night for the aching that was present throughout her body.

Her work also created a few incidents, for when you're at a bar for several hours at a time you tend to run into many drunken men. Their courage is greatly improved by several shots and they feel comfortable approaching her. They were easy enough to shake off though.

All in all, Lily was happy. She had spent two and a half years in relative freedom and was thriving. Lily thought about all this as she prepared for the World Cup crowd that was undoubtedly going to gather at the bar that night.

It was the first time England had made it to the semi-finals in ages and was going against an undefeated Spain. Multitudes of people were expected to come to the pub to drink and gamble while listening to the enhanced wireless.

By the time the game started, the whole building was packed. For the last hour it had been noisy with friends greeting each other, ordering drinks, and arguing over the odds of the game. But when it came to the last few moments before the game started, everyone was silent, anxiously waiting for the action to begin. Then the whistle blew and the crow erupted in a roar, only calming themselves enough to hear the announcer describe the match.

Lily would have loved to listen to the game but was too busy rushing people's orders around. She marveled at the amount of froth coated empty glasses she was taking back to have refilled.

"How in the world can people drink this much?" she asked lightly while handing the glasses to Sean to be filled again.

"It's because after the first two, most of the drinks miss their mouth," replied Sean over the roar of the crowd.

Lilly laughed as she left the bar, tray of drinks held high over her head. As soon as she got to the table the announcer shouted England's latest goal and the man in front of her jumped and she narrowly avoided spilling all the drinks.

"Whoa! Mr. Clavering! You nearly made me spill!" she laughed at the man in front of her. He was a regular at the bar and she knew him well. Clavering was a man just past middle age that liked his drink. He was what Sean and Scotts called a 'good drunk'. He became more cheerful and exuberant the more he drank rather than rowdy and sullen.

"Lily!" he roared in a drunken energy, "Bloody brilliant game innit? England's gonna make history tonight, I swear to ya!"

"So sure are you? I bet Spain will win it and crush the hearts of us poor Brits." Said Lily as she passed around drinks.

"Not so!" He roared, "I'll pay you double your tip if Spain wins,"

"Oh?" she laughed, "And what do you expect if England is victorious?"

"Only a kiss from you dear Lily"

"Oh, Mr. Clavering, tempting as that is, I can't gamble during working hours. It would be against regulation." She laughed as he simply shrugged and went back to listening to the wireless.

* * *

Several hours later the game was still going, Spain winning by just a few points, and Lily was exhausted. She collapsed in a chair at a table with Sean and Scotts during her short break.

"Hasn't anyone even seen the snitch yet?" She asked.

"Spain took a dive for it but they said it was a trick move." Said Scotts, still with full energy.

"Oi," Said Lily as she dropped her head on the table in front of her.

Something caught Sean's eye at the bar and he nudged Scotts and nodded to it. Scotts smirked and looked at Lily, "Hey, Lils, it looks like you've got an admirer." He teased.

"I know," she sighed dramatically, "Clavering's been making moves on me all night."

"No," chuckled Sean, "It's not the old man, it's some young bloke."

Lily lifted her head and looked at the two men across from her, "You two take way too much pleasure in seeing me reject guys."

"But you do it with such finesse!" Said Sean.

"And brilliant insults." Added Scotts.

Lily laughed and sighed a little, "Alright, I suppose I'm going to have to break the poor man's heart."

"And possible his nose," said Scotts hopefully.

She shook her head and said, "Let's take a look at him."

"That's my girl! He's directly behind you, at the bar, staring at you." Scotts told her excitedly.

Lily threw her arm over the back of her chair as if to turn to glance around the room. She started a slow sweep with her eyes, letting them rest for a fraction of a second on every person's head before moving on to the next. Finally, when she was almost entirely turned around her eye's met the black haired, hazel eyed man that she had hoped to not see for many more years.

Instantly she snapped forward, frozen in her seat. Her face was pale and her eyes grew wide. The boys had not noticed her expression, still staring at her supposed victim.

"Oh, look, he's coming over to… Lily? Lily, are you alright?" Said Scotts.

Before anyone could process what was going on, Lily bolted from her seat and was out the door.

"Lily!" Called two voices, one belonging to Sean who followed her out the door, the other to the man from the bar. Scotts stopped him from following them outside.

Lily sprinted down the road, through the light layer of snow that had started to fall. She heard a male voice behind her but couldn't distinguish who it belonged to. In a snap decision she apparated back to her apartment.

She slammed the door behind her and fell against it, quickly sinking to her knees. She could hardly form coherent thoughts about the man. The only thing going through her mind was _No! No, no, no, no, no!_

After a few deep breaths and several moments of denial, she decided that she had to leave, and fast. She knew she was just running from the problem but that was what she had been doing for years, Lily didn't see any harm in continuing tradition.

She ran into her small room and found a bag and began to throw her belongings in it. She was about to go fish her gold from its hiding place when she heard a _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Lily froze in place, not knowing how to respond. True, anybody could be on the other side of the door, but it was unlikely.

"Lily? Come on! It's me! Let me in!"

She relaxed when she recognized the voice as Sean's. She dropped the clothes that she had in her hand and went to the door. Steeling herself for a moment, she opened the door and pulled him inside before closing quickly.

"Hey." She said, attempting a casual tone.

"Lily," he said bewildered, "What was that all about? Who was…" He had caught sight of her half packed bag, "Are you leaving?" He asked, brow furrowed.

She bit her lip, "Um,"

"No!" He said, somewhat incredulous.

"No?" Said Lily defensively, "What do you mean 'No!' I know what I need to do and you're not making it any easier."

"You can't leave! Not because of… Well, whoever that was. That's ridiculous!" He scoffed.

"_Don't _talk to me about ridiculous. I have to leave here. I have to get away from him."

"Does it have to be this very minute? He doesn't even know where you live!" Said Sean, trying to be reasonable through his frustration.

"I thought he didn't even know where I worked either but apparently I was wrong!"

"Who is that guy?" Sean asked. Lily didn't look him in the eye and instead continued to throw things into her bag.

"Lily, STOP!" Sean said with such force that Lily actually paused, socks in hand, and looked at him. He sighed, "You want to go someplace else, I get it, but… can't it wait until morning at least. Scotts and I will come with you. I know you don't want us to feel like we have to," he said when she opened her mouth to protest, "But we've done it before and we can do it again. We'll figure something out. Okay?"

Lily looked at him for several long moments before dropping the socks with a sigh and nodding her head slightly.

"But, Lily, you've gotta tell me who this guy is and what he's done to make you so scared. I've never seen you like this, ever."

She grimaced slightly but said, "I know. You guys have stuck with me long enough to know. I'll tell you later, just, right now, I'm still trying to deal with… everything."

He came and enveloped her in a warm hug. This time she barely registered the pain that it caused her, only focusing on the comfort that it gave. He pulled away and held her and arm's length, "You want me to stay for the night?"

She shook her head, "No, no, I'll be fine."

"Alright," He said before turning towards the door.

He was about to open it before Lily called, "Sean!" he turned, "Thanks."

Sean smiled and said, "No problem, Lils," before leaving her apartment.

Lily went to her room and flopped down on her bed from emotional exhaustion.

* * *

Scotts stood in front of the man as he heard Sean chase Lily outside. He didn't know who this guy was but it was obvious that Lily did not want to see him.

"Back off, mate," Scotts said to the man.

"You don't understand. I _have_ to talk to her." The man responded, still trying to get around Scotts.

"Well, she doesn't want to see you, and I'm not going to let some strange bloke in a bar near her, so you're out of luck. Now, back off!" Scotts said forcefully.

"No, you don't understand, I'm James Potter." The man said.

"I don't care if you're the Minister of Magic. I'm not letting you go."

James finally stopped trying to get around Scotts and took a step back and looked him in the face, "Do… do you not know about me?" he asked.

Scotts looked at him suspiciously, "What's there to know?"

James shook his head bewilderedly, "I'm Lily's husband."

* * *

**Merry Christmas everyone. God Bless.**


	6. Chapter 6

Lily's groan of frustration was muffled by the mattress below her. She had spent the last five minutes face down on her bed, unmoving. Her thoughts had finally started to fall into a logical order.

She had, for the first time in two and a half years, seen her husband. That word still felt odd to her. It didn't seem like she had a husband. She never _really_ considered herself married.

Lily had told James that they would reconnect when they were ready for married lives. When they were ready to grow up and have a family. She had always intended this to be a mutual thing, eight or nine years later. Not only a few years after the ceremony while she was still working a minimum wage night shift. Was James ready for the family life? Was he expecting her to go home with him?

_She_ certainly wasn't.

Her thoughts were interrupted yet again by a knocking on the door. She crept over to the door, the knocks getting increasingly forceful and impatient.

_Bang! Bang! BANG!_

She peaked through the peep hole in the door before responding at all. Lily spied Scotts standing outside the door. His expression was hard to read through the distorted glass but she could tell he wasn't happy.

She opened the door saying, "Hey, um, what are you doing here?"

Scotts looked at her blankly for a second before responding, "You've got a visitor, Mrs. Potter." Just then, James came into view.

All the calmness that Lily had managed to obtain over the last few minutes had disappeared. Her anxiety returned in full force. Her mouth went dry and her stomach dropped from below her.

Scotts' carefully controlled expression went to alarm when Lily began to faintly stumble backwards in fear.

"Whoa, Lils, calm down." He said, stepping inside and bringing James with him.

"What are you doing here?" demaded Lily, regaining some semblance of control. She was not as surprised as the first time she saw him that night and was slightly more prepared.

"Well, Evans, if I knew that I had this effect I would have thought of some way to use it to my advantage." Said James.

They had now made it to the small living room and Lily slumped down on the overstuffed sofa, head falling into her hands.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated.

"That's something I would rather discuss in private," he said, throwing a look towards Scotts.

"Fat chance," said Scotts suddenly, "I may have taken you here, but anyone that can scare Lily that much isn't going to be left alone with her. Not until I get some answers at least."

"How much did he tell you?" Asked Lily looking from James to Scotts.

"That you were married and hadn't seen each other in a while." Scotts shook his head, "honestly, Lily, married? How did this happen? How could you keep something like this from us? From _Sean?"_

"You don't understand! It's complicated." Lily defended.

James, sensing that this was a discussion that his presence would not help, slowly tried to make himself blend in with the wallpaper.

"Don't understand? Lily, you're MARRIED. That's generally something you tell your best friends. You could have at least invited us to the wedding." He sneered.

"It happened before I met you." She said quietly.

Scotts stared at her incredulously for a moment before saying, "I don't even know you." He turned to leave before thinking better of it and spinning back to her, "When exactly did you plan to tell us?"

"I… I don't really know. A small part of me was hoping that I would never have to, but I always knew that I should. I guess once I had started living like this I didn't want to stop. You have to understand that I don't consider James a part of my life."

"That makes absolutely no sense at all! He's your husband, Lily. How can he not be a part of your life?" Scotts asked, exasperated.

Lily took a deep breath before saying, "Sean's coming here in the morning. I promised him earlier that I would explain everything to him. It would be best if I did it all at once."

Scotts started to shake his head angrily, "No… no! I'm not putting up with that. You have to tell me, right here, right now."

"Scotts! Please, this is _not_ something I'm proud of. I _will_ tell you, but I don't want to have to relive it all more than I need to." Lily was defensive now.

Scotts was unmoved.

Lily took a deep breath and said, "James and I had an arranged marriage. Both of our families were pretty powerful and wanted to keep it that way, joining them seemed to be a strategic move. I hated it and swore I would never be a part of that life, my mother, unfortunately didn't care about my thoughts and forced me into it anyways. I left as soon as I could. I haven't even seen James since the wedding. I've just been pretending as best as I can that it never happened." She looked at him, measuring his reaction.

Scotts looked shocked at first, and then deep in thought. He looked from James to Lily and back again before asking, "Is this true?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Scotts," said Lily, calling his attention back, "There's a lot more to the story than that. I'm going to tell it all in the morning with Sean here. You both deserve to know everything." She didn't break eye contact with him until she was sure he understood.

"Now," Lily said turning to James, "I want to know why you're here."

* * *

It was early the next morning when Sean knocked on the door. He had expected that Lily would want to get out of town early.

Lily opened the door and Sean brushed past her talking quickly, "I haven't found Scotts but we can owl him to come and meet us wherever we end up, are you pac…" He trailed off, seeing the two sleeping males in her living room, "What are they doing here?"

"Sean, I have to explain something to you." Lily heard the two figures stirring from sleep behind her.

"You said something about telling me everything…" He muttered, still staring at James, "Why is Scotts here?"

Scotts rose drowsily from the armchair and walked towards them, "I brought him over here."

"You brought him?!" Sean exclaimed, fully waking James now.

"Under the circumstances, I had to!" Scotts rebuked.

"What circumstances could possibly…"

"_I'll_ explain everything myself, if you please." Snapped Lily, coming in between them. She took a deep breath, "I want everyone to sit down and listen, I only want to say this once."

She led Sean to the living room and ignored his questioning looks. Lily wanted to prepare herself for the first confession. It would be the hardest.

"Sean," she looked him straight in the eye, "I want you to listen to everything I have to say, and please, don't interrupt me."

"Lily, why-"

"Please!"

"Fine."

"Okay," she braced herself, "This is James Potter. He and I are married."

"What do-"

"Sean! You promised no interruptions." Lily reminded him.

He was silent, but barely restraining himself.

"You should know up front though, that I do not love him. I hardly even know him. Our relationship is constructed from the mad plans of my mother. It all started a long time ago. Probably the day I was born, but I wouldn't put it past my mother to have started earlier.

"My name used to be Lily Evans. My mother was obsessed with nobility. She had grown up as the daughter of a Baron and married the cousin of a Duke. We never had an official title to our name, but everyone knew we were members of noble families. As soon as she found out she had daughters, I think she went into planning our lives. Of course, my older sister and I would receive the best education possible and also take all the proper etiquette and finishing classes. While we were preparing ourselves for high class life she would be picking out our husbands, keeping an eye on those boys who were around our age and had good family connections. I remember thinking that she was so silly whenever she talked to me about how, when I was older, I would need to know this to manage a household or learn that so I could be respectable for society. It was all a game of make believe she had in her head. I was not going to play that game. I was going to be and adventurer. I had already read many books about pirates and explorers. I knew that I was going to live my life in excitement. Mummy was just being silly. I didn't realize how serious she was.

"When I got a little older I did start to understand. It became a very real possibility that I could become an upper class housewife. I had only just begun to seriously worry when my saving grace came. It was my Hogwarts letter.

"At first my mother refused to even let me think about going. It was so abnormal. How was I supposed to get a husband if I was such an atrocity? Luckily my father saw the opportunity that magic would give me. Petunia, my sister, was already lost in my mother's world, already becoming quite the snob. He never wanted that for his children but he never had much control over my mother. He preferred to stay out of conflict and she could raise quite a storm when she wanted to. But the one thing he insisted upon was that I went to Hogwarts. My mother threw quite the fit, but he wouldn't hear otherwise. I was thrilled. This was my escape. I could be ordinary at this new school. I couldn't wait to go.

"My mother resigned herself to the fact that I was lost. Without the reputation that I would have built for myself in the muggle schools, how could I exist in that society? No one would want me for their son if I had simply gone to some mysterious boarding school for seven years. I was ruined. She gave up on trying to plan my life. After Hogwarts I was just going to have to live permanently in the wizarding world and Petunia would become their only daughter.

"It wasn't until I was fourteen that I realized how lucky I had been, my sister, three years older than I, announced her engagement to a wealthy man by the name of Vernon Dursley. Like our family, he was related to nobility but didn't actually have a title. With this announcement I saw how my mother's plans had solidified and thanked God that I couldn't be involved with that.

"That year I came home from my third year and unknowingly made the biggest mistake of my life. I got off the train and waved goodbye to my friends. I went to go meet my parents on the platform. My mother may have hated what I was, but she was too well bred to not come meet her own child. My father, as always was fascinated with the magical world and was constantly asking questions…

* * *

"_What's that?" Mr. Evans asked his daughter, pointing to a small, wrinkly creature with large ears and a round face._

"_That's a house elf. They're basically willing slaves. They absolutely love to serve wizards." Lily said with only a hint of disgust. _

"_Maybe we should get your mother one, eh? She's scared enough servants to quit." He laughed as he nudged her arm._

_Lily wrinkled her nose, "Nah, they only belong to pureblood families, like, see the people it's with, those are the Potters." Lily's tone clearly said that she did not like the Potters. _

"_Pureblood?" Mrs. Evans spoke for the first time, "What does that mean."_

_Lily rolled her eyes. Of course her mother would pick out any word that sounded uppity. _

"_It mean's that their family has been magical for _generations_," Lily said, "Some even think they're better or something because of it. Just because their rich bloodline could hold a wand means they're somehow superior. It's utter rubbish."_

_Mrs. Evans was unusually quiet for the rest of the evening. _

* * *

"That was the day my mother became obsessed with the magical world, or at least its families. She actually took me to Diagon Alley over the summer. I thought it was really weird, and she wouldn't explain anything to me, she would just send me shopping and I'd find her about an hour later coming out of the book store with a heavy bag in her hands. She would never let me see what she bought, and I assumed it was somehow for me. I thought maybe she had finally accepted me. I was touched by the thought.

"What I didn't know was that she was doing research on the great magical families. Not only was she doing research on her own, but she actually wrote to the ministry to find a private investigator. She hired two. They taught her all about the wizarding customs and the ancient families and what they were like. She thought it all over carefully and finally chose the very family I had pointed out on the platform. I think she settled on the Potters because, although they weren't as regal as others, they had the blood purity without the pureblood mania that some Slytherin based families did.

"She then approached the Potters. She managed to convince them that it was necessary. Many pureblooded families would have arranged marriages but usually they weren't as medieval as my mother knew it would have to be. She knew my views and knew that I would be heavily opposed to it.

"I think she went after Mr. Potter's practical side. She showed him how influential the Evans family was and how much money we had. Sure, it was muggle money, but that could easily be converted. And expanding the Potter Empire into the muggle world could only be beneficial. Power was power, after all.

"She was probably even more successful with Mrs. Potter for, as a fellow housewife, she knew all the fears that a high society woman had for her children. By this time it was the end of fourth year and James was becoming quite the ladies man. My mother must have pointed out the lowness of all the girls he was dating and how they were stupid and ill mannered. But her daughter, her Lily, knew everything there was to know about a social image and whatnot. She was brought up to be a lady.

"By the middle of fifth year we were told that we were to be married. I was horrified. Not only did I lose the freedom that I once thought was so secure, I couldn't stand James. It wasn't that we were enemies or that I hated him, I simply thought he was an arrogant bully and never associated with him. I was furious that my mother could even think she could do this to me. There was no way she could make me. I told her I wasn't like Petunia, I wouldn't play along. She told me she would break my wand in half if I didn't.

"It was in the summer between sixth and seventh year that it was announced publicly. My mother even forced me to wear the stupid engagement ring. It was large and flashy and I couldn't stand the sight of it. When my friends heard about it they freaked out. I was counting on one of my best friends to help me through it all, but he felt betrayed by the engagement. We haven't talked much since. Unfortunately my closest girlfriends were also really good friends with one of James' broken hearted ex's. Let's just say I didn't have much of a social circle in seventh year. James' popularity definitely declined with the girls, but I remember he had a very solid group of friends around him. I was always jealous.

"I tried to get to know him a little bit, but every time I saw him I could think of nothing else but my doom. I ended up avoiding him all of seventh year. He never sought me out either. We both knew that there was no way around it, but neither of us could face each other very well.

"My only hope was that my father didn't want me to be married young. He wanted me to finish school and get a career going. He didn't want me to become my mother. He was as firm on this as he was to my going to Hogwarts, and I loved him for it. Dad always wanted the best for me, even if he didn't always fight for it. My hope rested on him.

"But my luck didn't last. A week after my graduation he fell ill, a month later he took to his bed, and three months after that he was dead. My mother allowed a month of mourning period before she threw herself into a frenzy of wedding plans. She asked me for my opinion for the first week, but after many sarcastic and usually vulgar replies she just planned the entire thing herself. In the time between my father's death and the wedding, my wand was confiscated and I was not allowed out of the house. The two men she had hired to investigate were rehired to make sure I did not run away. I was only allowed to see one person outside of my family and that was James. I didn't take this opportunity very often.

"As the day approached closer and closer my plans became wildly more desperate. For half a moment I considered suicide before shaking myself out of it. James wasn't _that _bad. He felt much the same way I did. Surely he wouldn't want me to be an obedient little housewife the moment we were married. It was then that an idea sprung into my head.

"From that day on I pleaded with my mother to not make me do this. She refused to listen to me and simply reminded me that I would get my wand back after the ceremony.

"The day finally came and I asked my dressers for a moment alone before the ceremony. You should have seen my dress. It was ridiculous. Well, ridiculous for me, I'm sure my mother saw it as the height of fashion. It had this really stiff tight bodice that nearly suffocated me and a huge skirt that made me feel like an exploded ballerina. But the skirt had its advantages…

* * *

_As soon as the door closed behind the dressers, Lily dove for a bag she had hidden in the closet earlier that day. She quickly slipped off the fancy white slippers and stockings. Hastily she pulled on the old blue jeans._

"_Something blue…" she muttered._

_Lily then rolled up a black t-shirt and stuffed it in her back pocket. In the other pocket she put a pair of gloves. She pulled on a different set of shoes and tied them quickly. _

_Lily looked at herself in the mirror while smoothing the skirt over her new wardrobe. It was completely undetectable. She smiled slightly with satisfaction. _

* * *

"I had the escape worked out in my head, but I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. I left my room and went to find my mother for one last desperate plea.

* * *

"_Lily, what are you doing here? You should be getting ready for the ceremony." Mrs. Evans said from her vanity mirror._

"_Mother, I'm begging you. Please, do not make me do this." Lily said quietly._

"_Oh, Lily, I hoped you would be reasonable today." She said, offhandedly._

"_I can't do this!" Lily said hoarsely, "Mother, I'm not right for this life, nobody is. I will be miserable forever if I have to live like you want me to."_

"_Quit being dramatic dear."_

"_I'm NOT being dramatic!" Lily screeched. She was furious and huffed with anger. _

"_Then you're being ungrateful. You're having the life and security that every young woman dreams of. I gave it all to you. You should be thanking me right now."_

"_You're wrong, mother. Nobody wants this. Nobody wants to be trapped into a loveless marriage. Nobody wants to be forced into a life they want to run away from. I want to be on my own! I want to be independent! I want to make my own life! You're taking that all away, not giving anything to me."_

_Mrs. Evans remained silent. _

_Lily took a deep breath, "Mother, I am asking you one last time. After this you will never hear me complain of it again. If you refuse me I will go willingly up to the altar, but you should know one thing. If you make me do this, if you make me marry for the sake of position, you will never see me again. You will not be invited to our home, I will not attend your silly parties, you and I will have no contact whatsoever, and any children I might have, God forbid, will never know your name. But it doesn't have to be this way, mum, just let me leave here, let me live my life, and you can still know your daughter."_

_Her mother looked at her for a long moment. Her eyes were cold and calculating. She wore no expression. _

"_The ceremony will start soon. You should go get into your position." She said, turning back to her mirror. _

_Lily processed the words for a moment before giving a curt nod and leaving the room. Just before she closed the door she said, "Goodbye mother."_

* * *

"That was the last time I ever spoke with my mother. I walked down the aisle to my bi-cultural wedding. It was in a church, but had a magical binder. My mother was thrilled when she found out that wizarding contracts couldn't be broken, no divorces for me. She also had anti-cheating charms woven into the final marriage spell, as I found out later.

"We suffered through the reception and played our parts well. We may have not looked madly in love, but at least we were polite to each other. We left as soon as we could. My mother insisted we left in true muggle fashion, by a long car while everyone waved us goodbye. The moment the crowd was out of sight I began to change out of my gown. I think I scared James a little bit with all my suddenness, but I quickly explained. I was going to go live my own life, separately from him for a while. I said something along the lines of, 'when we're ready to be married, we'll see each other again.' After I told him my plan I just left. I saw James for the first time since then last night. You can imagine why I was a little scared.

"Now you know. I have no more secrets from you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier, but I didn't want to bring that part of my life here… I couldn't take it if you thought of me differently." Lily finished.

The room was silent for a long moment. Lily was anxiously switching her gaze from Sean to Scotts and back. James was at a loss for what to do or say, so he simply kept quiet.

Finally, Sean spoke.

"I have… I need to go." He said tersely before taking a few long strides to the door. It slammed behind him.

Lily watched him open mouthed for a half a moment before starting after him. She had no thoughts for her other friend or her spouse. Lily threw open the door and dashed down the hallway before she could lose sight of him.

"Sean!" she called as soon as she had caught up with him. He was halfway down the stairwell, several floors below her flat. Sean was on the landing looking over the steps below him. He was gripping the railing so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

"You're," he finally forced out between panting breaths, "You're married."

"Yes." She said quietly.

"And you didn't tell us because…?"

"Because," she sighed, "I kept making excuses not to. When I first met you it was because you were a total stranger and I didn't want it known that I was a member of the Potters. Then when you and Scotts helped me out I told myself that we weren't really friends, you were just being nice to the new girl in the neighborhood and therefore didn't need to know. When we became close friends I got scared that you two would think of me differently. Then Boss died and I knew you would stick with me no matter what, but I just couldn't bring myself to bring it up. I mean, how do you tell your best friends that you're married? 'Hey guys, how's it going? Good? Well guess what? My mother forced me into a marriage with a guy I hardly know. Did you get any good mail?'"

"When did all of this happen?" He asked.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Sean nodded. "About half an hour before that."

He let out a hollow chuckle, "That has to be a record of some sort."

They were quiet for a while. Lily kept sending Sean sidelong glances trying to figure out his mood.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I'm thinking… I'm thinking that… that this explains a lot."

"I always wondered what you two thought of all my little quirks." Lily mused.

"Little quirks? Lily, we didn't even know your last name."

"Ah," she sighed, "The first of the lies." She looked at him, "You know, I was going to tell you that my name was Lily Evans, I didn't consider that a lie since I didn't consider myself a Potter, but the marriage spells wouldn't let me do it. I apparently can't lie about who I was married to."

"These spells sound pretty serious."

Lily let out a huff, "You don't know the half of it."

"Yeah? What else?"

"Oh, er," stuttered Lily, not expecting him to be interested, "Well, I can't be alone with a man, I can't be affectionate with a man, I can't tell anyone I'm not married, basically anything that would aid me in having an affair, I can't do."

"Right, and how does it stop you? Obviously you found away around it, you've been alone with me and Scotts loads of times."

"I wish I knew a way around it. Every time I'm with you…" She trailed off, not wanting to make him feel guilty.

"Every time you're with us… what?" He asked.

"Nothing… it's not important."

He looked at her sternly, "Lily, you've kept enough from us already."

"It would- hurt."

"Hurt how?"

"Aches and pains would start from the ring," she took off the fingerless glove for the first time in ages. There was a faint tan line from where the fabric had always been. The back of her hand up to the first knuckle had much fewer freckles that the rest of her. "The more intimate I got the more it would hurt. The worst was when you two set me up on that blind date… all we were doing was dancing and my entire arm seared."

"And that's why you ran out…" he muttered to himself.

"Yep."

"And why you never stayed at our apartment, and why hugs were always so short, and why you never took off those damn gloves."

"Yes."

"And… It hurt…"

"Every time," she breathed.

"Lily, I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry." She said quickly, cutting him off, "It's not your fault, you didn't know. Anything that happened, _I _caused. I can stand the pain now. That's why I'm still with you."

A thick silence fell between them.

"So, what now?" Sean asked flatly.

"Now? Now, I go with him." Lily frowned.

"You're going with him?! You can't be serious! You're going to leave and go be his… his housewife?" Sean sputtered.

"No!" exclaimed Lily, "No. Do you think I'd still be here if that was what he wanted? It's different. He told me about it last night…

* * *

"_Now," said Lily, turning to James, "I want to know why you're here."_

"_I've come to get you, Evans."_

"_What for, Potter?" Lily asked suspiciously._

_He became serious, "For your own protection. I'm involved with some people… I can't say much now, but we've made ourselves enemies of Voldemort, and threats have been made against the Potters. Unfortunately, that now includes you. You need to come back to headquarters with me, as soon as possible."_

"_I'm thankful for the offer, but I'd rather stay out here." Lily did not want to leave. She could handle herself in a duel, and she'd rather face her own death in action than sit like a prisoner for the rest of her life. _

"_It's not simply for your own protection, if you are captured- don't think they're not looking for you- you can be used as a bargaining chip. For the safety of the whole operation, we need you where we can protect you."_

"_So… I don't even have a choice?" she sneered._

"_I'm sorry Lily, I know you hate this, but no, you don't have a choice."_

* * *

"…So I'm going finish packing and leave with him tonight." Lily said, emotionless.

Sean closed his eyes in frustration, "I hate this."

Lily said nothing. She was staring straight ahead, jaw clenched. It was only when Sean heard a loud sniff that he looked her fully in the face. Her face was scrunched up in anger but her eyes showed sadness.

"Lils? What's wrong? Is it your hand…"

"No," she choked out, "I'm just so angry now… and I don't even have anyone to be angry at! I'm mad at life! At fate! Everything! I thought I had done really well for myself considering the situation. I was making it ok. But I couldn't have that last could I? I fell like I only got one _minute_ of independence before life crashed on me!"

At the last word her voice broke and the first tears began to fall.

"Lily, it's going to be fine, you'll be fine." He said, putting his arms tentatively around her, not wanting to cause her pain.

He was surprised when she hugged him back fiercely but returned the gesture anyways. For the first time, Lily didn't notice the pain in her hand for it was drowned out by the pain in her heart.

* * *

**Hello to the few, still faithful readers, and to the new ones who haven't discovered my lack of update talent. In case you couldn't figure it out, everything in italics was in a flashback. Hope you enjoyed, and please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

Squeezing- pushing- pulling- dark- spinning- suffocation- claustrophobia- pressure- anxiety- stop.

The sensations of apparation ended abruptly as Lily felt solid ground beneath her. She kept her eyes closed as the image of Sean and Scotts' sad faces faded from behind her eyelids. It was the last thing she saw before they disapparated.

James quickly let go of her arm and stepped away. Lily opened her eyes to look around.

She found herself in a small field. It was oddly shaped and the tall, unruly grass was only interrupted by the occasional tree sapling. A large tree stood at the edge and dwarfed everything around it. In the far distance Lily could hear a stream trickling. Frogs and crickets called to each other in the night air.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, quite puzzled.

"Wait a minute." He said, staring at something near the large tree.

"Potter," she sighed angrily, "You track me down, drag me away from a life I was quite happy in, and bring me to this God forsaken forest. The least you can do is tell me why."

"The least I can do? I didn't realize that retrieving your own wife required a detailed explanation. Forgive me for wasting months tracking down a woman who took the phrase 'we need some space' to the extreme." He snapped at her.

"Oh, don't even pretend like it bothered you," she rolled her eyes,"I told you exactly what I was going to do. You even said it was a good idea."

"Yeah," James scoffed, "I thought it was a good idea that we lived separately for a while. I didn't think you meant falling off the face of the earth, living who knows where, in who knows what conditions, and being a cocktail waitress!"

"I _don't_ need your judgment on my life. You could have just left me there to fend for myself, I was surviving just fine without you. Doing fabulous actually." Lily sneered.

James scowled. "Hey, I didn't want to come and fetch you. I was doing perfectly productive assignments when I was pulled from all practical work to go find _you_."

"I'm sorry if running from my own personal form of hell was inconvenient for you!" Lily shouted at him.

"So my presence in your life is hell to you?" James started to yell too.

Lily was about to scream back a response when she heard a soft cough from behind.

"Ahem."

Both she and James whirled around, wands out to face the intruder. When Lily saw who it was she almost dropped her wand in shock. "Professor!" she squeaked out.

The impressive figure of Albus Dumbledore stood before them. Lily stared at her former headmaster with awe, confusion, and relief. There was a certain air given off by the wizard that had always made her feel safe and taken care of.

"I hope I'm not arriving in the middle of something." He said, looking at them bemusedly over his half moon glasses.

James and Lily fell into an awkward and ashamed silence.

"Er… Professor, what are you doing here?" Lily finally broke the silence.

"It has been years since you have been students of mine, please, you may call me Albus. And as for your question, it would be better if we finished explaining inside."

Dumbledore stepped past the two young adults and started towards the great tree.

"Sir?" Lily asked, perplexed.

"Yes?"

"Where exactly is 'inside'?" Lily stared around her, looking for some sort of structure or building.

"Follow me," the old man commanded. As he led them across the field he turned to Lily and said, "The headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix are located beyond the tree in this field."

"What? Professor! I don't underst…"

As they had continued walking, Lily saw a small, shack-like building peak from behind the tree. It had most certainly not been there before, Lily was sure of it.

As the three got closer, she could see that it was built out of sheets of rusty tin, hardly taller than she was, and leaning against the tree for support. The door had no hinges; instead a part of the tin had been creased to make a movable part of the wall. Dumbledore opened it and James immediately ducked inside.

"Hurry!" Dumbledore commanded when Lily did not enter.

Slowly she walked towards the structure and stepped in. It became very obvious that the tin shack she thought she was in was magically enchanted.

Instantly the forest noises died behind her. It was as if the trees, frogs, and crickets had been put on mute. Lily found herself on the landing of a set of stairs.

Down the stairs there seemed to be an open floor. She glimpsed several paper-strewn oak desks and people hurrying around.

At the top of the stairs was a single door. It was tall, made with dark wood and a brass handle.

"James, go on down the stairs and report to Alastor. He's been waiting for you, rather anxiously I might add. I'll take Lily upstairs." Dumbledore instructed. James left without hesitation.

The old man headed up the stairs. The wood creaked as he ascended. As Lily followed her old headmaster upstairs she heard shouts of greeting on the floor below.

Dumbledore unlocked the door with his wand and strode inside. With another flick of his wand, half a dozen candle-filled wooden chandeliers sparked with life. As her eyes adjusted Lily discovered a long rectangular table surrounded by mismatching chairs. It looked like an informal conference room.

"Please, have a seat," Dumbledore said lightly, gesturing to one of the chairs.

Lily took the closest seat to her which happened to be a straight-backed, old-fashioned, dining chair that had an over-stuffed cushion. She shifted uncomfortably in it.

"Now, Lily, before we begin-"

"AGH! Dumbledore!" Lily jumped when a loud angry voice sounded from below.

"Oh, dear," Dumbledore muttered, shaking his head. There was a clunking noise on the stairs. The door was thrown open and a slightly frightening figure stood in the frame.

His hair was ragged and his face was heavily scarred. At the hem of his pants, Lily could see a wooden stump poking out where a foot was supposed to be.

"Lily, may I introduce you to Alastor Moody," Dumbledore commented.

"Albus!" he snapped, "What are you doing here?"

"I am talking to our latest recruit, Lily Potter," Lily flinched at the name.

"Recruit? I'm downstairs talking to Potter and he's briefing me on his assignment and tells me that _she's _here and that _you're_ talking to her! Just when did you plan on telling me this?"

"I planned on introducing you as soon as I inducted her." Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Inducted? No! That's not how it works. I interrogate them first, and then you can throw them a welcome parade." He growled, throwing a sidelong glance at Lily.

"Why, Alastor, do you not have confidence in my abilities?" asked Dumbledore lightly.

"I have confidence in your confidence, Albus. I wouldn't be surprised if you let someone in on a pinky promise. Leave the interrogation up to me."

Dumbledore said nothing, but waved his hand towards the redheaded woman as if say 'if you must.'

Moody yanked one of the chairs out of his way and leaned against the table so that he was towering over Lily.

He stared at her heavily before beginning, "Why do you want to join us?"

"Join who?"

"The Order, of course!" Moody growled at her.

"_What_ Order?" Lily asked, desperately.

Again Moody wheeled around to Dumbledore, "YOU MEAN SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW!"

"What don't I know?" Lily was frustrated.

"Perhaps it would be better if I explained," Dumbledore started gently, but Moody shoved himself in front of the Headmaster and pointed a finger in Lily's face.

"You answer some questions first." He said, his voice frighteningly low.

"But-"

"Where have you been the last two and a half years?" He demanded.

"I don't think that's any of your business," sniffed Lily.

"If you ever want to see the other side of that door again it'll be my business."

Lily looked to Dumbledore for help, but he simply nodded in agreement with the grizzled man.

She sighed, "For a little over a year I lived and worked in a small magical community on the outskirts of London, then I moved up to Newcastle for about a year and a half."

"Where did you work at the first location?"

"A small coffee shop." She said softly, remembering Mr. Woodford.

"I'll need the names of coworkers and the owner,"

"The other waitresses came and went, I only knew their first names, and the boss was," Lily cleared her throat, trying to make it stronger, "the boss was a man named Richard Woodford."

For the first time, Moody faltered, "Woodford? You worked for Woodford?"

Lily nodded, "Yes, did you know him?"

"Know him? Of course we knew him! He worked for us! I can't believe we didn't know you worked with him!" Moody was positively dumbfounded.

"Boss worked for you?" Lily brightened. It might end up a good thing to be a part of if Woodford had been involved once upon a time.

"That's not important right now. Where did you say you went afterwards?"

"To Newcastle, with two friends." Lily was more willing to answer the man's questions now.

"Names?"

She hesitated and shifted again on her odd chair, "Sean Williams and Trevor Scotts,"

He wrote these down on a scrap of paper and stuffed it into his pocket. He turned back to Lily. "Now," he said, "What do you know of Voldemort?"

Lily's expression grew cold. Her jaw set. "I know about his anti-muggle attitudes. And his attacks have been getting worse and worse since I've graduated Hogwarts. He's crueler and more evil than any of us imagined."

"You sound very convinced of yourself," Moody commented, suspicious.

"I _have_ been personally affected." Lily's voice was dead.

Moody was surprised, "Who?"

Lily looked at him strangely, wasn't it obvious? "Mr. Woodford, of course."

"Oh," Moody looked uncomfortable, he didn't seem to think that his fellow dueler and cynic could have had a relationship with such a girl, "I didn't know you were close…"

"He was like a father to me," Lily mumbled.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Right," Moody said gruffly, "have you ever heard of The Order of the Phoenix?"

"No." Lily answered, "I mean, yes. Only when Dumbledore mentioned it outside."

"Good," Moody muttered, "That means our security is working. The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization against Voldemort. Dumbledore started it and has since been recruiting Aurors, teachers, and anyone else we can find."

"There's a real resistance then? Not just a department in the ministry?" Lily said hopefully.

Moody rolled his eyes, "Bah. The ministry couldn't send a curse without getting three forms approved. The point is: will you swear your loyalty to the Order?"

Lily nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Now, Lily," Dumbledore broke in, very grave, "I must stress how serious a matter this is. Wizards and witches in this organization are put at a great risk. Many die for its efforts. Your friend Mr. Woodford is an example. I want you to consider this carefully before you make your decision."

"I want to," Lily said instantly, hardly considering the alternative, "There is nothing better I want to be doing with my life right now."

"Would you swear an Unbreakable Vow for it?" Moody asked.

This, Lily considered. She had no intention of going back on her word, but Vows were very dangerous. Slowly, she nodded her head and said, "Yes."

"Alastor!"

"I'm just testing her Dumbledore, I wouldn't actually risk it." Moody grumbled.

"So, I won't have to take the Vow?" Lily was relieved.

"Of course not," Dumbledore said, "Circumstances can change so much in this organization that we would never know when someone would be forced to break a Vow. Now, I believe it's time for us to introduce you to everyone else." With that he rose from his chair and left the room. Moody soon followed behind him, his wooden leg rhythmically _thump_ing along. Lily sat for half a moment in her chair before scrambling after them.

They went down the creaking wooden stairs and past the door that had originally let her inside. As she stepped down the final set of stairs, the bottom floor was revealed to her.

It looked almost like a muggle office building, except the fluorescent light was replaced by magical candle light and there were no windows. There were desks that were pushed together and messy stacks of paper covered almost every surface. However, Lily noticed that every time she passed one of these stacks the ink rearranged itself on the parchment to make disjointed letters or pictures of stick-figures. On the far wall there seemed to be a sink and counter to make tea and coffee at.

People were walking all around the great, open room in different levels of distress. Some were rushing with their noses in papers and some were leisurely strolling with a partner.

Lily spotted James in one of the corners talking to a small group of men. They looked familiar to her.

"Everyone," Dumbledore called regally, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder. The room quieted instantly and Lily was reminded of the Great Hall at Hogwarts and how Dumbledore would simply call for silence, and there would be, "This is our newest member, Lily Potter," again, Lily winced at the name, "I hope you will all make introductions."

With that, Dumbledore, and everyone else went on with their business. Lily stood awkwardly in the middle of the room with no where to go and nothing to do. She was thinking about idling over to the counter- just to do _something_- when a woman caught her eye and waved her over.

Lily quickly moved to the desk that the woman sat at. "Yes?" She asked.

"Hello Mrs. Potter-"

"Lily." She cut her off before anything moved further, "Just Lily."

The woman looked annoyed at being interrupted but continued without comment, "I'm Marlene McKinnon, I'm to find someplace for you to be helpful." Marlene was a woman probably in her early thirties, but the worry lines on her face and the exhaustion in her eyes made her seem much older. She seemed to be a no-nonsense woman and spoke with a slight Scottish accent.

"Now," She looked critically at Lily, "What are you good at?"

"Er…" self-appraisal was not Lily's strong point, "I was fairly decent in just about everything at school."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "_Everybody_ is fairly decent in school. What have you been doin' since then?"

"Serving coffee and pints." Lily said.

Marlene looked disappointed, "Anything else? I mean _anything?_"

"Nothing," Lily said, "Unless you count hiding from everyone I've ever known, but I don't thi-"

"Perfect."

* * *

** I know, I know, this is the part where I apologize for being a terrible author and not updating and blah blah blah... **

**What can I say? School+AP Testing+Finals+genetic laziness makes for a lot of procrastination. But hey, summer is here and I won't have anything else to put in front of writing, so maybe, just _maybe, _I'll be able to update better. Don't hold your breath. **

**I do want to thank "Will Write for Food" for their last review, I saved it and used it as motivation to keep writing. **

**Review and tell me what you think. **

**Especially YOU.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know. I don't update well.**

**If you can't remember what this story is even about because you liked it and put it on your story alerts and got an email telling you it was updated, but hand't seen it in nearly seven months (because let's be honest, it's happened to all of us) here's what's going on:**

**Lily and James were forced into a marriage by their parents. Right after the wedding Lily leaves to go live her own seperate life, away from James for a while. He agrees that its a good idea. Along the way, she befriends Sean and Scotts, who have no idea about her past. A few years after she leaves, James catches up with her and all her secrets are revealed. She now has to go away with James because Voldemort has made threats against his family and Lily needs to be kept under protection. She is inducted into the Order of the Phoenix and taken back to James' appartment. Which brings us to now...**

* * *

James' home was dark when he opened the door and ushered Lily in.

As he waved the lights on Lily's first thought was 'liar.' She thought this because James had told her that he had a flat in London. This was most definitely not a flat. This was a penthouse.

First of all, it was on the very top story of the building and took up the entire floor. It had a sunken den with a large brick fireplace. The kitchen was spacious and contained a shiny looking stove and oven. Adjacent to the kitchen was a long hallway where Lily could see several doors leading to whoknowswhat rooms. The walls were the standard indifferent beige that made real estate marketable to all demographics.

"Huh," was all she said as she looked around.

"So, this is it. Your room is the second door on the left."

"Thanks." Lily muttered before lugging her bag towards the indicated door. The bedroom looked just like a guest room. It was nicely decorated in gender-neutral blues and greys. The bedspread matched the hand towels in the adjoining bathroom.

"I'm surprised you aren't at the _estate _or whatever you call your parents house." Lily commented with the slightest hint of passive aggression. She had come back into the main part of the flat and found him in the kitchen.

"I sold it when they died, actually." He replied curtly.

"Oh." Was all Lily managed to get out, what with the foot in her mouth.

"Yeah," he said dryly, leaning against the counter.

"Er, how did they- I mean- was Voldemort involved in their deaths?" she asked awkwardly.

"No, it wasn't anything like that," he answered quietly, "Dad caught dragon pox and ignored it until it was too late. Mum was diagnosed shortly after he died. All the stress from his illness and arrangements made her weak. I sent you the announcement, but never heard from you."

Lily shifted her weight back and forth,"I had owl redirecting charms cast… I never got any mail. All of it ended up somewhere in the channel."

James looked at her for a long moment before saying, "Marlene was right to put you on the protection team. You were too smart to be found."

The woman had put Lily with a group of people within the order that protected safe houses and families. Because of her extensive experience on staying hidden, she was a perfect fit.

"How did you eventually find me?" she asked, glad for the change of subject, and also curious.

"Eventually? Word of mouth." James admitted.

"Really?"

"Really." He snorted, "Once the threats were made, we had to make sure everyone in my family was safe which, now that my parents were gone, meant you. Of course I was the one sent to get you. It took me about a day to realize that I had no idea where you were.

"At first I sent you a letter explaining everything, but never got a reply. So I went to Gringotts to see when the last time you made a withdraw was, only to find out that you _never_ made a withdraw."

"I got a job," Lily said proudly, "I never kept or took anything in the bank, it wasn't my vault to use."

"Well, technically, about half of it is yours," He said dryly, "For the 'what's mine is yours' part."

"Can we just _not_ talk about that?" Lily said. She looked around at anything but James.

"About what? Our marriage?" He scoffed.

"Yes. That." She snapped.

"You can hardly ignore it."

"I've been doing just that for the past few years and been fine." She avoided looking in his direction.

He rolled his eyes and sneered, "Right, hiding in bars and coffee shops, not even telling people your last name, lying to friends and employers, I can see how much you've enjoyed yourself."

"How did you find all that out?" She asked sharply.

"Like I said, word of mouth."

"Liar! Who in the world could possibly tell you all of that?"

He pursed his lips, "Not many people forget pretty redheads, especially ones with an air of mystery about them."

Lily stewed in silence for several moments before saying quickly, "I'm going to bed."

James didn't reply as she brushed past him. She walked by the new appliances, the sunken living room, and counted doors in the hallway until she found what she hoped to be her own. The blue decorations and waiting trunk confirmed.

Lily went through the motions of going to bed. She took a shower, got into her pajamas, washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, and finally crawled into bed, but none of it felt natural to her. At first she thought it was the new environment, and then she looked at the clock. It was just now midnight. Lily almost laughed. She hadn't been in bed at midnight for months. Usually she wouldn't be falling asleep for another six hours. Still, she tried to make an effort. Counting sheep, however, isn't as effective as the storybooks would lead you to believe.

Sighing, she sat upright and gave up on the efforts to fall asleep. Maybe it would come to her naturally.

This was no good. Her mind became clouded with thoughts of James, and the Order, and how overwhelming it all was, and how she just wanted to go back to her tiny apartment with Sean and Scotts. Then she started to miss her boys, and wished she could talk to them right now if only to be with somebody familiar, to be with someone who knew her.

She thought of pulling out some parchment and writing them a letter, but she wouldn't know what to write. Moody had made it very clear that she wasn't to communicate with the outside world about anything she was doing for the Order, which basically included everything she had experienced from the last time she saw them.

Eventually her thoughts became too depressing for her to stand. She shoved the covers away and pushed herself off the bed. Walking on the balls of her feet, she crossed the room and peeked out the door. All the lights were off, and she could hear a faint snoring coming from James' room.

Stealthily she moved down the hallway and found the kitchen again. What she really needed right now was a good cup of coffee. Some people couldn't handle the caffeine well and became restless after drinking it, but Lily used coffee like others used aroma therapy. The more of it she had, the more relaxed she became.

There didn't seem to be a designated pantry so Lily opened cabinets at random. Cereals, snacks, cookies, dishes, cups, empty cupboard, Tupperware, five different brands of tea, and… no coffee. Not even a wisp of the rich aroma.

For a moment she considered summoning it, but the idea of toppling pots and pans as the beans forced their way out of a cabinet changed her mind. She did _not_ want James waking up.

Lily was desperate. The only spaces she had not checked were the overhead cabinets. She knew there probably wasn't anything up there, but she pulled a chair over and stood on her toes to search the very dusty top shelves.

"If you're looking for alcohol, it's in the den."

"AH!"

Lily jumped, tipped the chair, and fell very hard onto her side on the kitchen floor. Before she even had time to process the pain, she whipped out her wand and pointed it at the source of the sound. She found a tall male figure standing over her.

"_Stupefy!"_ Lily cursed. A jet of red light shot from her wand and hit the man in the chest. He slumped to the floor. Lily scrambled as far away from him as she could get. Once her heart slowed back to a normal rhythm and she was sure that he really was unconscious, Lily tip toed over to get a better look.

He looked familiar to her. He was handsome with an aristocratic face and silky dark hair. She could have sworn she had seen him before, from a fancy party or something…

"Oh my gosh!" said Lily when she recognized him from her own wedding, "_ennerverate!" _

The man stirred, clearly confused.

"You're Sirius Black?" asked Lily. He grunted. "I'm so sorry about this. With everything that's been going on lately I guess I'm a little trigger happy." She helped him off the ground.

"I'd like to say that it happens to everyone, but I'm not exactly sure what that means." He muttered as he brushed himself off.

"Oh! Sorry." She mentally hit herself, "It's a muggle saying. I guess you're a pureblood then?"

"Technically, yes." He sighed.

"Technically?"

Sirius smirked, "I was disowned by my family ages ago. According to them, I'm in the same lot as the traitors and the mudbloods – no offence."

"None taken."

"So they threw me out at sixteen. Dear old mum, always knows whats best." He finished sarcasticly.

"Your mother and my mother could start a club," Lily laughed with bitterness, "The 'I Screwed Up My Child's Life Club'."

Sirius snorted, "No, It'd have to be a 'Society'. 'Club' sounds too common."

Lily smiled chuckled, deciding that she rather liked this man.

"So," Sirius started, "What were you looking for?" He gestured towards the open cabinets and miscellaneous items strewn over the counter.

"Oh! Coffee. Do you know where it is? And the coffee pot and filters too?" She asked.

At this Sirius laughed, "You won't find coffee in this flat."

"What?" Lily was disappointed, "Why?"

"James hates the stuff! He can't even stand the smell of it. That pot at headquarters drives him crazy. He'll only drink tea." He continued to snicker.

_Note to self, _Lily thought, _get coffee at all costs, regardless of hus- roommates opinion._

"A gun!" Sirius interrupted her musings.

"What?" Lily said, totally confused.

"A gun." He repeated, "That thing that you said earlier - trigger happy – it has to do with muggle guns, right?"

"Yes," she said slowly, "how do you know about guns?"

"When I was a kid I learned all about muggle stuff to piss off my parents. Even got an old motorbike and fixed it up."

Lily smiled, "I did the same thing. I left all my schoolbooks around the house whenever her hoity toity society tea ladies came. She hated it when I apparated."

Sirius held out his hand, "Well, it's nice to finally meet someone that hated their mother as much as I did mine."

Lily reached out and shook it with a frown, "Isn't James the same way?"

Sirius shook his head as he dropped her hand, "I know what you're thinking – that James should feel the same way about his parents as you do about yours, but the Potters were good people. They took me in when I got kicked out. And the whole marriage thing – I think they just wanted the best for James, and you were the best."

"Flattered," Muttered Lily sarcastically and then a moment later, "Sirius?

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing in James' apartment at one in the morning?"

He seemed to remember something, "Ah. Right. JAMES!"

Instantly a _thud_ was heard down the hall followed by several expletives and what sounded like a hex thrown at the door.

A few seconds later, James emerged from his bedroom half whispering half hoarsely shouting, "Bloody hell Sirius! I told you to keep it down so we don't wake up Evans!" He came into the kitchen, "Oh."

"What's going on?" Lily demanded.

"What are you doing up?"

"I asked you first."

"My apartment, my rules."

Lily bristled, "What happened to 'What's mine is yours'?"

"I thought we were ignoring that bit," James bit back, sarcastically. Lily glared at him, willing him to combust from the sheer amount of hatred coming from her eyes.

Sirius, looking back and forth between the couple, suddenly interjected, "I think this is precisely the reason James asked me to come by and rescue him. Isn't that right, James?"

Potter gave his friend a confused look before relaxing and saying, "Right, er, let's get out of here." He shoved his arms through a coat and marched to the door.

Sirius gave her a backwards glance and a wave as he left, "It was lovely to meet you… again."

"Wait! Where are you going?" Lily called, but he had already shut the door. She let out a groan of frustration before slumping down on the counter.

_Dear Sean and Scotts,_

* * *

_I know it's only been a day, but I miss you more than you can imagine. I can't tell you much about where I am, or what I'm doing, but it feels good to write to you anyways. Potter is an arse and his friends aren't much better. Plus, there isn't an ounce of coffee to be found anywhere. Not a great start. _

_Make sure you look out for yourselves. I'm going to try and come see you soon._

_Lots of Love,_

_Lily_

**Review s'il vous plait.**


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